This Just in...

THE ANNEX
HARBORD ST.
It was a warm, sunny Friday before Labour Day weekend and I had a shitload of laundry to do: heavy duty items that don't fit in my machines, like duvet and mattress covers, a bath mat and a giant ass beach towel. I visited a coin laundromat in The Annex neighbourhood, and with time to kill between cycles, a walking tour reacquainted myself with a once-familiar part of town...

The only time a yellow car doesn't remind me of a schoolbus is when it's cute and sporty like this Mazda Miata

The sketchy-looking Harbord Fish & Chips was across the street from the laundromat. I admit the smell of deep fried batter tempted me but it's at times like these I'm thankful for my gluten intolerance. The place looks like it's one rat dropping away from a Board of Health violation. I'm sure it's popular with the local student population but, c'mon, students will eat anything.

Harbord Bakery
Having saved a Toronto Star list of bakeries on which Harbord topped the list my husband and I finally made it down there yesterday. Our verdict after buying 6 different items is that the bakery is highly over-rated and over-priced. We'll stick to Dimpflmeier which are better and half the price and didn't even make the list.

Related
Dimpflmeier Bakery reviews
Best place in the city to buy authentic German breads and pastries.

...their German style cheesecake is "to die for"

Put simply: this is the best goddamn bread in the world. Don't question it - just go get it.

Caversham Booksellers
"North America's largest mental health bookstore"

Splendido
For the hefty $700 price tag, you can find much better or add $500 and jet to NYC for a more memorable, flavorful meal.

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
ST. GEORGE CAMPUS
The University of Toronto was founded as King’s College in 1827, and it now occupies three campuses: Scarborough, Erindale, and St. George campuses. Liberal arts education is the key of the undergraduate curriculum at Toronto, and the Faculty of Arts and Science has more students than any other faculty. The University's library (Roberts Library) is the largest in Canada and among the best in the world. The University of Toronto Press is one of the most important scholarly publishers in North America. [Flickr.com]
I was once a pre-med student at U of T. I struggled through physics and chemistry - my worst subjects in high school - and then finally threw in the towel during the first semester of my third year. Of course, the School of Graduate Studies was simply out of the question.

Athletic Centre




I'm a fan of the low-key modernity of the Wolfond Centre



Robarts Library
The library building is one of the most significant examples of brutalist architecture in North America. Its towering main structure rests on an equilateral triangular footprint and features extensive use of triangular geometric patterns throughout. It forms the main component of a three-tower complex that also includes the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and the Claude Bissel Building, which houses the Faculty of Information. The library's imposing appearance has earned it the nickname of "Fort Book".






There's a lot of concrete in this building - it's quite oppressive, actually

Walking out of Robarts, I heard loud chanting and clapping. Just my luck, my mini campus tour happened to coincide with Frosh Week. Hundreds of freshman dressed in their college's colours paraded by, as I sat on a bench taking in a part of campus life I missed out on the first time around.



Newman Centre
Toronto's Newman Centre is today one of that city's best preserved examples of Romanesque Revival architecture. It was one of the first buildings in Toronto to receive heritage status from the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 1977, not only for its exterior but also for the intricate and impressive interior design elements. The Archdiocese continues the preservation of the site despite the great expense. It has also been used as a site for movie and television filming.

Trinity College

About Trinity College

Students have been gazing out of this window for 158 years

The inner courtyard

More about Trin



Loosely translated: Memorize everything.


Across the street from Trin


Queen's Park

The Ontario government has its legistlative buliding here

I've lived in Toronto all my life, and not once have I stepped foot inside this park.

Wycliffe College, a seminary founded in 1877

About Wycliffe College

Wycliffe College Tour

I wonder if the paint job is 132 years old

Not a hangover-friendly hallway


The legacy of generations of fathers...

...and men who (perhaps) never made it to fatherhood

The shiny metal makes me doubt these are original to the building

It blows my mind that this building was erected 22 years after the invention of plastic.

Student lounge

Translation: No one. Speaks. Latin.


Gallery of dead white guys

A room made for snoozing

Funny, that wasn't there a moment ago...

There once was a guy named Melvil Dewey

"History of the Christian Church in the Middle Ages"

I remember books. I used to read them.

Lecture hall

Chapel




I'm not a religious person, but I do respect other people's traditions; if this offers comfort to people, who am I to judge?

Downstairs, more moldy carpeting and creaking floorboards. Seriously, this building protests every footfall.



"Please 'test drive' one of these suggested practices"

Recess is over!

So, I was propped against a signpost outside Wycliffe, copying pics on my phone, when oh shit...here they come again...

...suddenly, I was surrounded by this teeming mass of frosh, a million strong...

...the fumes from their Axe Body Spray made me high...

...Psst, dude! Where the free food at??

Campus lesson #1: Only the "cool" people get a mascot

Hart House

Hart House - slideshows

FYI
_The walls of Hart House display pieces from the Hart House permanent art collection valued at over $10 million.
_Since 1949 Hart House has operated a 150 acre farm in the Caledon Hills.
_Hart House Theatre has started the careers of such Canadian legends as: Donald Sutherland, Norman Jewison and Lorne Michaels. [HartHouse.ca]

I'm intrigued by this

Ceiling treatment looks cheap, like ribbons of tin foil

Porters desk




Loosely translated: Come in. Sit. Ignore each other.


The hottest guys on campus? The chess players.



Inner courtyard


Sculpture adds interest to any environment


Exiting the courtyard

RAF = Royal Air Force
RCAF = Royal Canadian Air Force
CIC = Commander in Chief

Outside of Hart House was a guy selling farmers market goods

He had raw veggies, preserves and freshly-baked bread

As I walked away, I wondered about his business sense. He wasn't attracting much attention, and I think the last thing a student wants to buy on campus is a bunch of beets. If this guy wants to move product, he should sell organic pizza. Or take that bread and make sandwiches. Throw in some freshly-squeezed juice and he's got it made.

U of T [FLICKR.COM]
Wolfond Centre__Rick McGrath

Emmanuel College__viviloob

(unknown)__Gazoni

Robarts Library__MatrixElement

Three University of Toronto buildings, with four decades between each. To the left, the new Donnelly Centre (2004). To the right, the FitzGerald Building (1927). To the rear, the hideously oppressive Medical Sciences building (1969)__debcha

University College exam room__Ricardipus

Convocation Hall__Saad K

Convocation Hall__Fuzzy Rixard

MORE U of T
Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building - set
University of Toronto - set 1
University of Toronto - set 2
University of Toronto - set 3

DT BISTRO
[Yelp.com]

[Yelp.com]

While my stuff was in the dryer, I had a light meal at this pretty little off-campus eatery located at 154 Harbord St. Its bright, spa-like decor and open-to-the-elements window seating makes it a perfect summer's day lunch spot or evening stroll ice cream pit stop, of which they sell many varieties. The service, however, leaves much to be desired. I was one of 3 customers at the time and, after waiting too long for some attention, I actually had to get out of my seat to flag down a server for the bill. The following review confirms what I suspected: There are a few kinks yet to be ironed out if the new owners want to continue to capitalize on DT's (formerly Dessert Trends) success in the neighbourhood.

DT Bistro Could Use a Helping of Honesty
We all deserve every opportunity, if it can be afforded, to do our best. I come back to DT Bistro again, and again, looking for a good meal.



True window seating makes for a speedy getaway (kidding!)






Bud vases?


The tiny bouquet is a nice touch

Sweet potato fries: Tasty but greasy; the dip saved the day

Asiago, roasted pepper and baby greens salad: Pretty plating; ok taste; too salty for my palate

Bits and Pieces

Face Your Pockets

What's REALLY in Your Bag?

Links that have been gathering dust on my computer...

Bill Moyers Journal: Wendell Potter
With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform.

Blind Women Help Detect Breast Cancer
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Blind women are being trained to use their sensitive touch to help detect breast cancer earlier and more precisely than doctors.

Fiji Water: Spin the Bottle
Obama sips it. Paris Hilton loves it. Mary J. Blige won't sing without it. How did a plastic water bottle, imported from a military dictatorship thousands of miles away, become the epitome of cool?

Off the Deep End: A Look at the Decline of Dubai
Deserts have a way of reclaiming whatever is built upon them. In the case of Dubai, the global financial implosion has sent that process into overdrive. After six years of frenzied expansion, during which the emirate's population grew at 7% annually and nearly $600 billion went into construction (the world's tallest building! the world's largest shopping mall! the biggest man-made island! an indoor ski resort!), reality has come rushing into view.

Brand Yourself and 4 Other Tips for Success From The Sartorialist
Starting in September of 2005, Scott Schuman became The Sartorialist, a fashion blogger with a lot more up his tailored coat sleeves than street shots of pretty people. He has created a thriving street style blog, not only accrediting himself as a guy with a great eye for fashion, but as a world-recognized photographer, and as a brand. This August, he released a compilation book of his photos aptly titled, The Sartorialist. In honor of Mercedes-Benz Spring 2010 Fashion Week in New York City, we share with you his nuggets of wisdom, as well as a few peeks at his book.

DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.

Fan-Made Music Video Restores Hope in Music Video Kind
Remember music videos being important, and good? Neither does anybody I know, because our memory's been wiped by MTV and VH1's current slate of programming. And then there's this beautiful, fan-made music video of indie band Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks."

Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck
LOS ANGELES — In today's recessionary Hollywood, studio executives are no longer looking to cast actors who will demand upward of US$15 million just to appear in a movie and then a hefty portion of the film's revenue. Instead, the ideal package is a big concept with low-paid stars.

RealAge Test
Your RealAge is the biological age of your body, based on how well you've maintained it.

The Gold List 2009
THE BEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD
Welcome to the fifth annual Gold List, our selection of the hotels around the world that have the best rooms, service, food, location, ambience and design, and leisure facilities. To compile this ultimate guide to the world's greatest hotels, we have combined our editors' choices with the highest-ranking hotels in the Readers' Travel Awards 2008.

24 Ways to Exploit Chaos
Economic crises can lead to fear and paralysis within executive boardrooms, not to mention a shortage of capital or credit to act on good ideas that do emerge. But they can also create opportunities. In Exploiting Chaos (Gotham Books, 2009), Jeremy Gutsche—an innovation consultant and the founder of TrendHunter.com, a site that tracks emerging trends—offers, as the book's subtitle says, 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change.

All Broads Lead to Rome
Mired in sex scandals, headed for an ugly divorce, dogged by investigators, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is a national joke. He’s also the richest, most successful politician in Europe—and has no intention of changing his ways. Will Italy change without him?

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' Hotel Room
Room 3918 - which features four huge bedrooms, a private lift, marble-lined bathrooms and state-of-the-art kitchens – takes up the entire 39th floor of the luxury hotel, and is not just the most expensive hotel room in Australia; but rather, it is one of the most expensive in the world.

The Wave of Hotel Foreclosures Sweeping the Globe
Prepare for a period of the greatest deluge in hotel loan history. How bad is the recession on the hotel industry? On a daily basis, we at Scene Advisor are hearing of hotel loans going into servicing because of default. Currently, over 80 major hotels a week are going into default or closing the doors. The Wall Street Journal reports that currently 5% of securitized hotel mortgages are currently in default, and over 4,000 hotels will default this year alone.

John Oliver: Comic Crumpet
John Oliver is certainly a funnyman of the ha-ha kind, though he's not without his peculiarities as we found out in this interview, which was conducted via email for his own safety –– did we mention he's the thinking woman's bit of crumpet from The Daily Show?

Kat Williams: Drugs in America
"Have you or one of your loved ones been killed from using our medicine? Dial 1-800-OurBad..."

Bubbies Story
As John describes the Bubbie persona, "She's the essence of the kindly Jewish grandmother who happens to be passionate about things like cooking and pickling. She stands for all Old World grannies who pamper their family with wonderful foods they've hand made using authentic ingredients and traditional recipes."

Transparency Triumph: Reviewing is the New Advertising
In fact, Twitter has established itself as the real-time snapshot of what people are thinking/feeling/experiencing and yes, reviewing, around the world. Expect numerous services to capitalize on this burgeoning ‘global brain'. One example: SkinniPopcorn provides Twitter feeds of users' real time comments about newly released films and the current US box office top ten, as well as the ten movies that are currently mentioned most often.

Pop-Up Restaurants: They're Quick, Sharp, Full-throttle, and Then They Shut Up Shop
Pop-ups are the embodiment of our high-octane, short-attention-span culture. One minute they're here - restaurants and bars opening in unexpected locations, causing a storm - and then they're gone. The temporary dining spot manages to break all the rules of what a traditional restaurant should be. Which is precisely why the trend for temporary locations dips into our whimsical 21st-century consumer mindset.

Is This London's Most Fashionable Restaurant?
Blink and you'll miss it. Flash is a pop-up extravaganza from the brains behind bistrotheque. They don't come any cooler.

Heston Blumenthal Recipes and Cooking Tips
Heston Blumenthal is the chef and owner of The Fat Duck, the three Michelin starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire. The Fat Duck was named Best Restaurant in the World in 2005 by Restaurant magazine. Heston's recipes appear in The Sunday Times every week.

Bo Burnham: Welcome to YouTube
"Before YouTube I was just a skinny white kid that thought he was funnier and cooler than he actually was..."

The World's Highest Hotel...But Not for Long!
If a gob-smacking view is your thing - and heck, it's mine - you could do worse than check in at the Park Hyatt, Shanghai, which has just taken the mantle of the world's highest hotel. See that nice pagoda-shaped building you're looking down on out the window? Yeah, that's the Jin Mao Tower, and it's about 40 meters taller than the Empire State Building in NYC.

CinemaScore's Ed Mintz: Hollywood's Secret Box Office Swami
You never see him at any fancy movie premieres or making the rounds of the talent agencies. He hasn't turned up on any Hollywood power lists. But the 68-year-old Ed Mintz has quietly emerged as a key player in the movie business over the past year, thanks to the growing popularity of CinemaScore, his Las Vegas-based market research company that provides an invaluable piece of information to studio insiders every Friday night. His reports reveal just how much -- or little -- moviegoers liked the new movies that invade America's multiplexes each weekend.
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[via]

Band of Horses

Ben Bridwell, lead singer



Band of Horses, previously known as Horses, is an American indie rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke. Joe Arnone joined the band in February 2006. They are currently signed to Sub Pop Records. The band often draws comparisons to My Morning Jacket, largely due to the vocal similarities between Bridwell and My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James, the occasional Southern rock tendencies that the two groups have in common, and a penchant for glimmering reverb. Allmusic has compared Bridwell's vocals to early Neil Young and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.

Band of Horses - official site
Upcoming Events
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LINK
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie

Indie Rock Olympic Sketches

Space Cadet

Guy Laliberté, founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil




Space-Travelling Cirque Founder About to Host Biggest Show in the Universe
MONTREAL - Canada's first space tourist is hours away from hosting the biggest show in the known universe.

Guy Laliberte has spent months planning an event some are dubbing 'Spacestock' - a concert on five continents, with the Cirque du Soleil founder acting as the master of ceremonies from the International Space Station.

The billionaire circus impresario hopes his grandiose event will focus the world's attention on an important cause: water conservation. [...]

The production costs for the multilingual show are estimated to be between $6 million and $10 million - which is on top of the US$35 million Laliberte paid to become Canada's first space tourist.

It will be seen on the Internet beginning at 8 p.m EDT through the website of Laliberte's One Drop Foundation at OneDrop.org. [...]

Bono, Shakira and Al Gore Team Up for Water Education
Tonight (October 9), a multitude of celebrities will take part in a global event dubbed "Moving Stars and Earth for Water." Musicians, movie stars, politicians and environmentalists will unite for one common cause: Bringing the world more and better water. This diverse group includes Shakira, Salma Hayek, Bono, Joss Stone and former Vice President Al Gore. Perhaps the most riveting component of the show? On the same day we searched the moon for water, the event will be broadcast into outer space.

Why? Because the architect of the entire project is Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte, who has been on a personally-financed mission to the International Space Station since October 2. He describes the event as a "poetic social mission." Laliberte intends to use his time off Earth to find supplies of one of the world's most important resources. "My mission is dedicated to making a difference on this vital resource by using what I know best: artistry," Laliberte said. [...]



Guy Laliberté, OC, CQ (born September 2, 1959) is a French Canadian entrepreneur, currently the CEO of Cirque du Soleil. Starting out as an accordion player, stiltwalker and fire-eater; Laliberté created his circus which is a synthesis of all circus styles around the world. In 2006, the 95% share holder of the US$1.2 billion Cirque Du Soleil was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. [...]

Nuit Blanche

Rabbit balloon__Jeff Koons__Times Square, NY

What to See
For all the talk of late night boozing, 24 hour subway service, and survival, it's easy to forget what Toronto's Nuit Blanche is really all about: giant floating rabbits. That, and free, accessible contemporary art. With 46 installations, 132 total projects, and over 280 artists (official and renegade), deciding what to see can be a daunting task. More likely than not, your more memorable art pieces will be the ones you accidentally stumble upon at 4 in the morning. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a plan. Here are some of the more interesting pieces at this year's Nuit Blanche. [...]

NUIT BLANCHE
Oct.03-04, 2009
6pm-6am

SO HOW WAS IT?
Water bottle pixels__[Flickr.com__Fumio Photo]

Rescue Bubble__[Flickr.com__MrBeng]

Sounding Space - art
Beautiful Light - art

Nuit Blanche 09 - set 1
Nuit Blanche 09 - set 2
Nuit Blanche 09 - set 3
Nuit Blanche 09 - set 4

Building a Nuit to Remember
Now that we have all recovered from our Nuits, it's time to step back and take stock...
Polling Booth: Bonne Nuit ou Ennui?
Fantastic! I loved it! 15% (55 votes)
It was pretty good 40% (146 votes)
Meh 24% (86 votes)
It was kinda lame 16% (58 votes)
What a colossal waste of time and money 5% (18 votes)
Total Votes: 363
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NEW POST
Paranormal Activity
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LINK
Top 10 Biggest Flops in Box-Office History